M²Join is used to join the contents of two or more multimedia files (AVI, MPEG, WMV or WAV). Please note that in order for a video to be DVD-compatible it needs to have a size (resolution) of 720x480, 704x480, 352x480 or 352x240. DVD players will not accept videos with other dimensions.
Main window is shown in the figure below:
The following fields are on the M²Join Dialog:
Source Files Group
Source Files List box
Use the Source Files list box to view the list of files that you want to join. Manage the list using the buttons to the right of the list to adjust the list so the files appear in the correct order for the joining process.
The list displays the following columns:
Name
The name of the file (without its path).
Type
The type of the file (AVI, WAV, MPEG…etc).
Size
The size of the source file on disk.
Contents
A value which describes the contents of the media file (audio, video, midi…etc).
Dimensions
The Video dimensions, in pixels, if the source file has video.
Frame Rate
The average frame rate of the source file.
Duration
The duration of the source file.
Add Button
Select this button to open the Add Source Files dialog. Use the dialog to browse to the folder(s) containing the files you want to join. Select the files and select the Add button to add the files to the file list and close the dialog. You can also press the <INS> key to open the Add Source Files dialog in order to add new items.
Remove Button
Select one or more files and select this button to remove the selected files from the Source Files list. This button is only enabled when one or more items are selected in the Source Files list. You may also press the <Del> key while items in the Source Files list are selected in order to remove them.
Remove All Button
Select this button to remove all files in the Source Files list. This button is enabled only when there are one or more items in the Source Files list.
Move Up Button
Select a file and select this button to move a file upward in the list. The sequence of the files in the Source Files list determines the order in which the files will be joined. This button is available only when there is a single item selected which can be moved upward.
Move Down Button
Select a file and select this button to move a file downward in the list. The sequence of the files in the Source Files list determines the order in which the files will be joined. This button is available only when there is a single item selected which can be moved downward.
Play Button
Select this button to open the Multimedia Player Dialog and play the selected file. If the selection is invalid or does not exist, an error message displays. This button is enabled only when there is a single item selected.
You may also double-click an item or press the <Enter> key with an item in the list selected to play the item.
Destination File Group
Destination File Edit box
This edit box displays the
destination file name, the file that will hold the result of the joining
process. To select a different file or to create a new file, type in the
path and the file name or select the Browse button ( 
)
to the right of the edit box
to open a Target File dialog, which you can use to navigate to the desired
folder and enter or select a file name. When you are finished, select
the OK button to use the file name and close the dialog box and return
to the Join Files dialog.
Browse Button
Select the Browse button to open the Target File Dialog to navigate to the destination folder and enter or select the destination file name.
Play Button
Select the Play button to open the Multimedia Player Dialog to load and play the file specified in the destination file edit box. If the file is invalid or does not exist, an error message will be displayed.
Format Group
Target Format The format to be used for the converted file. This includes the file format, any special settings used by that format, and which audio and/or video codec A COmpressor combined with a DECompressor, or encoder and a decoder, which allows you to both compress and decompress that same data. is to be used for the conversion, and any special settings used by the codecs.codec is to be used for the conversion, and any special settings used by the codecs. Drop-down list box
Use the Target Format drop-down list box to select the file format for the target (joined) file. For more information, refer to Supported Output Formats.
Target Format Properties Button
Select the Properties button beside the Target Format Drop-down list box to open the Target Format properties dialog, where you can set properties specific to the file format being used. These include such things as interleaving when using the .AVI file format, or indexing when using .ASF file format.
Video Codec Drop-down list box
Use the Video Codec drop-down list box to select a video codec to use when creating the joined target media file. The list shows all the video codecs installed on your system that can be used to encode media files, including some LEAD proprietary codecs as well as those from 3rd party providers.
A video codec is a software component which compresses and decompresses video. Codec is short for COmpressor and DECompressor. A compressor is a module or algorithm to compress data. A Decompressor Also known as a decoder, this is a module or algorithm to decompress data. is a module or algorithm to decompress data.
Video Codec Properties Button
Select the Properties button beside the Video Codec drop-down list box button to open the Properties dialog for the selected video compressor, if it has one. This dialog contains options for advanced users.
Audio Codec Drop-down list box
Use the Audio Codec drop-down list box to select the audio codec to use when creating the joined target media file. This list is available only when the file has an audio stream The portion of the file holding the audio data. The audio data might be compressed to save disk space. The data has to be decompressed using an audio decompressor before you can play (hear) it.. The list shows all of the audio codecs installed on your system that can be used to encode media files, including some LEAD proprietary codecs as well as those from 3rd party providers.
Audio Codec Properties Button
Select the Properties button beside the Audio Codec drop-down list box to open the Properties dialog for the selected audio codec, if it has one. This dialog contains options for advanced users.
Note: To obtain the best audio quality, do not use any audio compressor unless you want to decrease the size of the output file.
Show warning message on selecting unstable codecs Check box
When selected, a warning message will be displayed when selecting an unstable audio or video codec in the Video Codec and Audio Codec drop-down list boxes. The warning message displays to ask if you are sure you still want to use it. To ignore the selected codec and restore the setting to the last selection, select the No button.
Video Properties Group
Resize Options Group
Resize to Drop-down list box
Use the Resize To drop-down list box, to set the video size of the resulting file. Available options are:
Max source size: Select to resize the video to the maximum video size available in the Source Files list.
Min source size: Select to resize the video to the minimum video size available in the Source Files list.
Custom size: Select to resize the video to the size that you select.
Size Edit boxes.
Use the Size edit boxes to set the custom video size of the resulting file.
Menu Drop-down button
When the custom size is selected, select the Menu drop-down button and then select the "Set from selected source" item to obtain the video size from the selected source.
Aspect Ratio Group
Maintain Aspect Ratio Check box
When the Maintain Aspect Ratio check box is selected, resizing will be performed to preserve the width to height ratio.
Background color button
Select the Background color button to open a color palette to select the background color to fill the gaps that may result from resizing video while aspect ratio is preserved.
Frame Rate Options Group
Set frame rate using: Drop-down list box
Select a frame rate from the drop-down list box to set the frame rate for the resulting file. Available options are:
Max source frame rate: Select to resize to the maximum frame rate available in the sources list.
Min source frame rate: Select to resize to the minimum frame rate available in the sources list.
Custom frame rate: Select to resize to a custom frame rate that is set using the Frame Rate edit spin box or the menu drop-down button.
Frame Rate Edit boxes
When a Custom Frame Rate is selected, you can use the Frame Rate edit spin boxes to specify a custom frame rate for the resulting file.
Menu Drop-down button
When a Custom Frame Rate is selected, you can select the Menu drop-down button to open a menu in order to select either the PAL or NTSC standard video frame rates.
Join Button
Select the Join button to begin the joining process. After the joining process starts, a Processing… (Joining Files) message appears, which displays a progress bar for the joining process and which has a Cancel button that you can select to cancel the process.
Close button
Select the Close button to close this dialog.
Help Button
Select the Help button to open a popup help topic for this dialog.
Notes:
Although it is possible to join files that have extremely different frame rates, the playback of the joined file may be very slow or very fast.
If files with different video frame sizes are joined, some frames may be stretched or shrunk. This will affect the video quality of the resulting file.
See Also